Seven-week Granville Street road closure begins for FIFA World Cup pedestrian zone | Daily Hive

Seven-week road closure of Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver begins next week for FIFA World Cup pedestrian zone

City of Vancouver

For seven consecutive weeks starting on Monday, June 8, a substantial segment of Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver will be completely closed to all vehicles for its transformation into the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone, coinciding with the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Five city blocks of Granville Street between West Georgia Street and Davie Street — through the Granville Entertainment District — will be fully closed through Tuesday, July 28.

This means vehicle traffic, including all TransLink buses that typically run on Granville Street, will be rerouted to Seymour Street for northbound travel and Howe Street for southbound travel between West Hastings Street and the Granville Street Bridge.

Buses will benefit from the establishment of dedicated bus lanes on both Seymour and Howe streets to help support travel times and reliable service.

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Bus access on northbound Granville Street from the bridge will be maintained as far as Davie Street for trolley buses to reach Yaletown.

The City of Vancouver will designate temporary loading, taxi, and ride-hailing zones on side streets next to the pedestrian zone to support businesses and enhance access.

To better serve the influx of people, TransLink is also launching a brand-new temporary bus route within Downtown Vancouver — the No. 1 Downtown Vancouver South circulator, operating on a looping route along Burrard, Davie, Cambie, and West Pender streets. The No. 1 will run from June 8 to Sunday, July 12, every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

translink downtown van granville street pedestrian zone fifa world cup 2026

Full road closures and TransLink bus route detours from June 8 to July 26, 2026 for the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone coinciding with the FIFA World Cup. (Downtown Van)

Full road closures and TransLink bus route detours from June 8 to July 26, 2026 for the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone coinciding with the FIFA World Cup. (City of Vancouver)

translink 1 downtown vancouver south circulator fifa world cup bus route

Map of the temporary No. 1 Downtown Vancouver South Circulator bus route during the FIFA World Cup. (TransLink)

While the closure begins on June 8, the pedestrian zone will not start until Thursday, June 11, as it will take a few days to set up and install the extensive activations and fixtures. This is also the same day the FIFA World Cup will officially kick off in Mexico City.

Moreover, the pedestrian zone will close on Sunday, July 19, the date of the championship final in New York/New Jersey, but the street will not reopen to vehicles until July 28 due to the time needed to dismantle the pedestrian zone’s setup.

Downtown Van (the local business improvement association for Downtown Vancouver) is leading the programming effort for the pedestrian zone, which will be based on a greatly expanded and enhanced programming version of their summertime pedestrian zones of the street in past years.

Each of the pedestrian zone’s five city blocks will have its own unique theme and programming, entailing Selfie Central, Enchanted Forest, Game On (soccer theme), Awesome Art, and Rainbow Realness. Visitors can expect expanded patios, art and fun activations, local businesses, vendors, and live music.

Programming plan for the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone from June 11 to July 19, 2026, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup. (Downtown Van)

fifa world cup store 810 granville robson vancouver

FIFA World Cup store at 810 Granville St., Vancouver, before its opening, as seen on June 4, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

The Granville Street Pedestrian Zone will be one of the largest unofficial FIFA World Cup activations in Vancouver, made possible by Downtown Van’s $800,000 investment into the programming and a $300,000 contribution by the municipal government.

An official FIFA World Cup merchandise store will also be located within the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone, located within a 5,000 sq. ft. retail space at 810 Granville St. — near the southeast corner of the intersection of Robson and Granville Street, formerly occupied by Daiso. Two official merchandise stores in Downtown Vancouver — along with another store nearby inside CF Pacific Centre mall — will open by Saturday, June 6.

TSN is also in the process of turning Jack Poole Plaza into an activated area for its FIFA World Cup broadcast studio.

There is also an extensive full closure of a segment of Pacific Boulevard south of BC Place Stadium through the end of July to support the venue’s operations.

granville street downtown vancouver entertainment district

Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver looking south from West Georgia Street during a public event. (City of Vancouver)

2026 fifa world cup banners granville street vancouver

2026 FIFA World Cup street banners installed on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

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